Steve Sarkisian Reveals Thoughts On Texas Longhorns College Football Playoff Standing

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian believes the Longhorns are a College Football Playoff contender

AUSTIN, TX -- The Texas Longhorns currently sit ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25, and are considered by many to be on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoffs.

And when asked if he thought the Longhorns were contenders to make it into the final four of the rankings, head coach Steve Sarkisian had a simple three-word answer.

"Why wouldn't I?"

It's a reasonable, and quite frankly earned response as well. 

The Horns have as good a resumè as any other one-loss team in the country. They hold arguably the best win in the country with their win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, their strength of schedule ranks higher than any other contender outside of Ohio State, and they are on the precipice of being a conference champion - something the Buckeyes will not have the benefit of. 

Steve Sarkisian celebrates a Texas Longhorns win / Sara Diggins-Austin American-Statesman

However, they will still need some help to get there. Ideally for the Horns, Louisville needs to beat Florida State in the ACC Title game, which would open the door for Texas to make it into the Top 4. 

Then, if Washington takes care of Oregon for the second time on Saturday, the Ducks would be dropped out of the discussion for good, likely clearing the way for Texas all together.

Of, should Oregon beat Washington, there will be another discussion to be had. That said, the Horns resumè is still objectively better than the Ducks, and that was made even more clear when Texas beat Texas Tech - the two team's only common opponent - by 50 points. For context, Oregon barely survived their matchup with the Red Raiders, winning 38-30 in Lubbock after a late interception. 

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With all that said, the first thing Texas needs to do is take care of their own business against Oklahoma State on Saturday in Arlington, and Steve Sarkisian knows that. 

"There is no College Football Playoff talk if we don't play a really good game Saturday and try to find a way to win that game," Sarkisian said. "If that happens, then there's another discussion to be had."